Ok everyone, I have taken pics of my modifications. I would like to take this new info to a new threaded titled “Ignition Module / Ignition Coil remote relocation.” I should have that posted shortly. Standby.
I wanted to post pics of my heatsink install on an '86 4 cyl.
It is a heat sink off of an old AMD SlotA CPU. I used the Artic Silver thermal adhesive to glue it on. I had to cut the fins so the dist. hold down bolt would allow movement and I turned the disrtibutor, and swaped the wires so the module is pointing down , for more cooling and so the heat sink would fit.
Patrick / Sardony, those both look like great parts-bin craftsmanship; good job! + for both of you. I'm interested in hearing how you feel it performs though, because I've always wondered if this mod would/could actually work in reverse, and carry heat from the (now nearer) EGR valve up to the dist. I'm fairly sure that the module will indeed get much warmer than it's ambient air, but Aluminum transfers heat so efficiently that I've always wondered... Any thoughts on the subject? -Paul
Patrick / Sardony, those both look like great parts-bin craftsmanship; good job! + for both of you. I'm interested in hearing how you feel it performs though, because I've always wondered if this mod would/could actually work in reverse, and carry heat from the (now nearer) EGR valve up to the dist.
Thanks Paul, I appreciate the compliment on the "parts-bin craftsmanship".
It's been over seven months now since I added the heatsink, and it's worked like a charm. I had done away with the EGR tube for awhile and deleted the EGR with a custom PROM, but the gas mileage was so bad that I've replaced the EGR tube and put back the stock PROM.
It's my understanding that the ignition module gets a lot hotter than the air under the decklid, even by the EGR tube (which has an insulating "jacket" on it) and/or the EGR valve. Therefore I didn't anticipate any problems with the heatsink picking up heat from the engine compartment and transfering it to the ignition module, and nothing I've seen indicates that this is any sort of realistic problem.
I've bought an extra distributor to use as a spare and it's my intention to add a heatsink to it as well. I've been very pleased with this modification.
I wanted to post pics of my heatsink install on an '86 4 cyl.
It is a heat sink off of an old AMD SlotA CPU. I used the Artic Silver thermal adhesive to glue it on. I had to cut the fins so the dist. hold down bolt would allow movement and I turned the disrtibutor, and swaped the wires so the module is pointing down , for more cooling and so the heat sink would fit.
Good call using Artic Silver Adhesive, that will provide the best in heat transfer. sparx22
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11:44 AM
sardonyx247 Member
Posts: 5032 From: Nevada, USA Registered: Jun 2003
I see this as being a modification that I will do in the future. I just read through the whole thread for the first time this morning. I gave you a plus Patrick. I thought that I gave you one a while back because you liked my old Chevelle. Regardless, great idea.
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12:44 PM
Patrick Member
Posts: 37846 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
I just read through the whole thread for the first time this morning. I gave you a plus Patrick. I thought that I gave you one a while back because you liked my old Chevelle.
Thanks Tony. Yes, I certainly liked your '66 Chevelle SS (which I read you've since sold), but receiving a plus from you for this modification info instead of simply for liking your Chevelle is probably more justifiable.
There's no need to "glue" the heatsink onto the distributor base. This is all covered on page one of this thread.
But I wanted to glue it on. My need was there. This is also a 4 cyl distributor, not as long as the V6 one. So you can tell me I did it wrong all you want and I won't beleive you. I considered screws, thus the holes you see in the pic. But being shorter I allready had to grind off fins for the hold down clamp.
And as the artic silver being the best, it is the best thermal glue. Artic silver already does alot better than just thermal compound (white) so even if the glue is could not be as effective. It should still be better than the white compound.
With the glue I could probably put one on without even pulling the distributor on a V6.
So you can tell me I did it wrong all you want and I won't believe you.
Ummm.... I think you need to step back and take a deep breath. I never said you did anything "wrong".
If you read the first page of this thread, you might understand why Sparx put a winkey smiley face at the end of his post to you.
quote
Originally posted by sparx22:
Good call using Arctic Silver Adhesive, that will provide the best in heat transfer.
I can’t speak for Sparx, but I believe he was giving me a good-natured dig because of our earlier discussion.
I responded to his post, complete with my own smiley face to acknowledge the one he used. You seem to have misinterpreted this post which was more directed at Sparx than yourself, although for your benefit I mentioned he and I had already had a discussion about this on page one.
quote
Originally posted by Patrick:
Arctic Silver Adhesive is no better than non-bindingArctic Silver. It may even be less effective with heat transfer.
Sparx and I had a discussion about this on page one.
Did I say that it was "wrong” for you to use Arctic Silver Adhesive? No, I didn’t. I was simply stating (as I had on the first page of this thread long before you made an appearance here) that non-binding Thermal Interface Material is every bit as good, if not better, than binding TIM.
If you wanted to “glue” your heatsink in place, that’s fine. You probably used the best “glue” available.
However, there's been no evidence supplied that gluing the heatsink in place with Arctic Silver Adhesive transfers heat any better than clamping the heatsink with screws and using non-bindingArctic Silver (as Sparx may have jokingly been implying). That’s all I was stating... nothing more, nothing less.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 02-21-2010).]
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05:01 PM
Dennis LaGrua Member
Posts: 15526 From: Hillsborough, NJ U.S.A. Registered: May 2000
On the surface this looks to be a very clever way to keep the module cooler. However, on second thought I'm not so sure. Adding a heat sink assumes that the surrounding air is cooler than the temp of the module. Since the heat sink may not be in a cooler area, whether or not it has any value is questionable. .
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 06-09-2009).]
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05:21 PM
Patrick Member
Posts: 37846 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
Adding a heat sink assumes that the surrounding air is cooler than the temp of the module. Since the heat sink may not in a cooler area, whether or not it has any value is questionable.
Dennis, that issue has already been addressed numerous times in this thread.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-09-2009).]
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05:26 PM
gem1138 Member
Posts: 631 From: Baton Rouge, LA Registered: Aug 2007
I bolted a 3 inch diameter inline fan from Pegasus Auto Racing supplies in my trunk. A 3 inch to 2 inch reducer connected to 2 inch PVC through the trunk firewall and blows like a hurricane on the coil and module. It is powered via a water heater thermostat mounted on the coil heat shield such that the fan comes on at 150 degrees Fahrenheit. No problems since then. That was last August and I am in southern Louisiana.
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05:55 PM
Patrick Member
Posts: 37846 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
I bolted a 3 inch diameter inline fan from Pegasus Auto Racing supplies in my trunk. A 3 inch to 2 inch reducer connected to 2 inch PVC through the trunk firewall and blows like a hurricane on the coil and module. It is powered via a water heater thermostat mounted on the coil heat shield such that the fan comes on at 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Got any pictures? Sounds interesting.
I like the idea of the thermostat control mounted on the coil heat shield, but with the fan mounted in the trunk, where does it get it's intake air from? (The factory trunk fan in '85-'87 V6 Fieros draws it's air from outside the trunk.)
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-09-2009).]
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06:04 PM
Dennis LaGrua Member
Posts: 15526 From: Hillsborough, NJ U.S.A. Registered: May 2000
Dennis, that issue has already been addressed numerous times in this thread.
The distributor is right near the exhaust crossover. Unless air temps are measured we won't know conclusively but the heat sink is bound to at least spread the heat around. The cooling fan should also be a big help as it brings in outside air. My opinion is that the heat sink should provide a benefit on Fieros that have the engine compartment blower
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
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10:17 PM
PFF
System Bot
Patrick Member
Posts: 37846 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
My opinion is that the heat sink should provide a benefit on Fieros that have the engine compartment blower.
Really going out on a limb there, eh?
Well in my opinion, if the air temperature under the decklid near the distributor is anywhere even near the temperature of the ignition module, I'd say you've got one of those famous Fieros on fire we've heard so much about.
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11:19 PM
Jun 10th, 2009
sardonyx247 Member
Posts: 5032 From: Nevada, USA Registered: Jun 2003
Considering that adding the heat sink has stoped cooking modules, I would say this works. Patricks is on a V6 and the one I did was was on a 4 cyl. So there seems to be alot of "what ifs" and all the "what ifs" I have seen only coraspond to mainly the V6. I can stick my hand in my engine bay just fine, but do you think I can touch the bottom of the module, hell no. way too hot. If the engine bay was hotter do you think that they would use the distributor as a "heat sink"
I guarantee, next time you are sitting on the side of he road due to a bad module, you will be thinking about this.
I can stick my hand in my engine bay just fine, but do you think I can touch the bottom of the module, hell no. way too hot. If the engine bay was hotter do you think that they would use the distributor as a "heat sink"
Exactly.
On page one of this thread I posted the following...
quote
Originally posted by Patrick:
From what I understand, the ignition module produces heat a whole lot hotter than the air in the engine compartment. That's why GM mounts the ignition module on the metal bottom of the distributor in the first place. This allows heat from the module to be released to the engine compartment from the bottom of the distributor. I'm just helping the distributor do this task a bit (a lot?) more efficiently by installing the heatsink.
... 
...but not as an electric supercharger. 
